Tablets might have been all the rage during the busy holiday shopping season, but in the fast-paced world of technology, things don't usually stay the same for too long.
Now, consumers are growing more and more interested in phablets, causing tablet sales to slow during the first three months of 2014, according to new data from IDC. From January to March, worldwide shipments of tablets and 2-in-1 devices reached 50.4 million units, a 35.7 percent decline from the "high-volume" holiday quarter and just 3.9 percent growth over the same period a year ago.
"The rise of large-screen phones and consumers who are holding on to their existing tablets for ever longer periods of time were both contributing factors to a weaker-than-anticipated quarter for tablets and 2-in-1s," Tom Mainelli, IDC program vice president of devices and displays, said in a statement. "In addition, commercial growth has not been robust enough to offset the slowing of consumer shipments."
The slowdown was not limited to one particular operating system or devices of a certain screen size, either. Worse yet, things don't seem to be looking up for tablets, with IDC predicting a "challenging year ahead for the category."
Not even Apple is immune. The Cupertino tech giant remained the king of the tablet market in Q1 with 40.2 percent share, but the 16.4 million units it shipped was down from 26 million in the holiday quarter and 19.5 million in the year-ago period.
No. 2 Samsung fared a little better, managing to grow its worldwide share to 22.3 percent from 17.2 percent in the previous quarter. Asus took third with 5 percent share, while Lenovo and Amazon rounded out the top five with 4.1 percent and 1.9 percent, respectively.
Android tablets continue to dominate the market, nabbing roughly two-thirds share, Jitesh Ubrani, research analyst for ICD's Worldwide Quarterly Tablet Tracker, said in a statement. And believe it or not, Windows devices are actually gaining steam.
"Although its share of the market remains small, Windows devices continue to gain traction thanks to sleeper hits like the Asus T100, whose low cost and 2-in-1 form factor appeal to those looking for something that's 'good enough'," Ubrani said.
For more, see PCMag's roundup of the best Android tablets in the slideshow below. Also check out The Tablet Dead End Is Dead Ahead.
And watch PCMag Live in the video below, which discusses the slowdown of tablet sales.
